


Magnetic

by lady_meatball



Series: Seduction in Seattle [1]
Category: British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston (RPF)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26978821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_meatball/pseuds/lady_meatball
Summary: A trip to Seattle for Ace Comic Con proves to be more than expected for Katie.This is the meet-cute for what could be the newest series of stories I write; it is my ‘Katie’ character that you might be familiar with thanks to my K&C stories, but I wanted to see what she’d be like with my most recent fictional boyfriend, Mr. Tom Hiddleston.This is dedicated to my darling friend Cass since she’s the one that pretty much pushed me off the cliff into this never ending well that is the Hiddles fandom, and one that has welcomed me with open arms.
Relationships: Tom Hiddleston/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Seduction in Seattle [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1968880
Kudos: 8





	Magnetic

“… _Welcome to beautiful Seattle, Washington. On behalf of our captains, and the rest of our flight crew, please enjoy your stay and travel safely._ ” The lead flight attendant announced over the loudspeaker as the click of the lock sounded and the ‘fasten seat-belts’ lights turned off, signalling we could stand and begin unboarding. A mass exodus began as seemingly everybody on board stood and started jostling to get off the plane first; I sat in my seat, holding my carry-on tote in my lap, waiting patiently…or as patiently as one could with a full to bursting bladder more than half way back the length of the plane.

Five minutes of bouncing my leg and biting my lip in agony, the line had cleared enough that I could make a dash for the ramp and the nearest restroom in the terminal before heading off to the luggage carousel to grab my suitcase.

Walking out into the cool air of the main terminal, I stopped to look for a sign that pointed to the closest women’s room, spotting the glorious sign to my left; quickly, I pushed off in the direction of promised relief, but the crowded walkway spoke of numerous other flights having arrived recently, and it meant I had to dodge and weave through clumps of people, stopping and starting abruptly…but not quickly enough apparently, as I smashed into a backpack while distracted by making sure I cleared an older couple inching along the tiles; the sudden stop had my free arm flying forward while the other, holding my tote full of the items I didn’t trust to travel in my suitcase followed a similar trajectory, but swung around and came crashing into the front of the person wearing the backpack.

“ _Bloody hell…_ ” I heard muttered as the tall man I ran into and seemingly just ‘George of the Jungle-d’ reacted to my bag hitting him somewhere in the range of knees to groin I suspected by his buckling at the hips and knocking me of balance; I began falling backwards as the other man he traveled with turned to level a glare in my direction, opening his mouth to say something as I hissed out a nervous, “ ** _Shiiiiiiiiit!_** ”

I could feel my feet slipping out from under me, the new sneakers I had worn not having been roughed up enough to have great traction on the waxed floor, but a hand grabbed my wrist, stopping me from falling further.

“You should watch where you’re going, you could have done some real damage, you know that?” The younger of the two men snapped, sounding posh with his English accent.

“Are you alright?” The other asked, the one whose backpack I had just become familiar with; his hand held on tightly, giving me balance to stand back up as the crowd moved around us on the concourse. My heart was racing at my near crash and burn as well as my own embarrassment for almost plowing a complete stranger over in my haste to empty my bladder, but in that exact moment, I got my first real look at my victim…and my heart faltered for a beat, recognizing him as his own smooth English accent registered in my head and I completely forgot about the state of emergency my bladder was announcing.

[Originally posted by clintfbarton](https://tmblr.co/Zdc_Kl2ZThk63)

“I’m so sorry, it’s entirely my fault, if I hadn’t stopped so suddenly, you wouldn’t have run into me…-” Tom said in his trademark soft spoken and gentle way; he was tall, taller than I had expected if truth be told…and I definitely hadn’t expected him to look like he did now, with his long, curly hair and the soft ‘lumberjack-esque’ beard covering his face…Glancing away from me, he looked at his companion, whom I now also recognized, telling him off with, ”-Luke, it’s not her fault, you saw those people stop in front of us as plainly as I did…”

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention…” I apologized as well, setting my bag on the ground to free up my hands before standing up straight once more and fussing over my mussed clothes and hair, “I know it’s no excuse, but I was trying to not run over a little old grandma and grandpa in my rush, and got distracted…I’m **_so_** sorry!”

Tom had turned away from Luke, facing me once more, only this time with a soft, gentle expression; my own smile was warm mirror of his as I brushed a swath of hair behind my ear, continuing with, “Please, let me make up for my social faux pas to you both…can I buy you both coffee?”

Luke not very subtly looked at his watch, sighing in slight irritation before tutting, “Thank you for the offer, but we’re running late, and I don’t know where Tom has run off too…” while Tom, in that very same second, tilted his head to the right infinitesimally, those blue eyes of his watching me for the briefest second behind his black rimmed glasses before saying “That sounds lovely…”

I glanced between them, watching as the battle of wills waged, Tom wanting to accept my offer while his ‘nanny goat’ wanted to stay on schedule…ultimately, and unfortunately for me, Luke won out.

“We’re late, and we’ve lost young Thomas…you know we can’t…”

A sigh of defeat escaped Tom, his head falling forward enough to make his curls jostle; when he looked up, crestfallen and frustrated, one lock had fallen forward and rested over his forehead; this time the smile was sad, and it showed in his eyes.

“Alas, it seems my friend Luke is correct, and though I would love to accept your offer, Darling, sadly I must turn it down.” Tom explained, reaching his left hand up to adjust his frames higher along the bridge of his long nose. “Perhaps a…what is it you Americans call it? A, uh…a ‘ _rain check_ ’? If our paths cross again, I’ll hold you to it…what was your name, darling?”

[Originally posted by thosekidswhohuntmonsters](https://tmblr.co/ZyVV5h2ZK92Eq)

Luke sighed heavily, and out of the corner of my eye I caught him tilt his head back and roll his eyes at his companions shameless but smooth flirting before turning away to make a phone call.

“Katie. My name is Katie.” I smiled, extending my hand to him for handshake; his expression lit up once more, and soon that large hand that grabbed my wrist just moments earlier was once again touching me for a solid shake, accompanied by his other encompassing mine like a small, precious thing.

“It’s been a pleasure, darling Katie…” He grinned, leaning forward to add, “Before I go, I feel like I have to ask…are you here for business or pleasure?”

Breaking into a chuckle, I was surprised at his question, not at all expecting it.

“A little bit of both, actually…but mainly pleasure.” I answered and before I knew it, I had added, “Why do I get the feeling there is a ‘Coffee, tea or me?’ joke lingering in the air?”

The cheeky grin he wore blossomed across his face, reaching his eyes in accompaniment of his own unique chuckle of ‘eheheheh’. His quick nod of approval went with the quick flash of the tip of his tongue slipping from his mouth to moisten his lips, and I caught his eyes flick over me quickly, like he was reading the moment and making up his mind in a split second.

“Good…I hope the Fates see fit to have our paths cross again…” He flirted, making my heart falter once again at his comment and then before I knew it, he lifted our still clasped hands, raising them to press a quick and gentle kiss to my knuckles before adding, with cheeky wink of his eye, “Until then…enjoy Seattle, darling.”

In flash, Luke had him swept away, walking off in the direction of the baggage claim, all the while, Tom Hiddleston kept sneaking looks over his shoulder back in my direction, and I stood frozen to the tile, like an absolute lunatic lost in headlights, completely in shock…until the sudden urge to pee struck me full force once more, and I took off running for the restroom.

* * *

Looking over his shoulder one last time, Tom felt himself smile a crooked half grin in the direction of the woman that had literally ran into him…he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he saw her seem to shake herself out of the daze he left her in, reaching to grab her bag on the floor before dashing off towards the line for the women’s restroom.

“-what do you think?”

Luke’s question snapped him out of his little bubble, and he turned back to his friend and manager, a frown of confusion lifting his brows as he asked, “I’m sorry, what was it you asked again, Luke?”

Another martyred sigh left his friend, before he repeated himself, asking, “Young Tom…he’s told me he’s going to meet us at the hotel, then we can go over the schedule for the weekend before getting dinner. Tonight is really the only night until Sunday that allows us freedom to explore, so if you’d like to go out…”

“Oh…right. _Umm_ …-” Tom caught on, still distracted from the encounter with the young woman with the long dark hair and stunning green eyes just a few moments earlier…”-sure, that sounds fine, Luke. Whatever you want…”

Luke stopped dead in his tracks at the top of the escalator, pulling Tom to the side to not block the flow of foot traffic; looking at his charge and friend sternly, he allowed a tiny bit of frustration to show.

“I’m **_sooo_** very sorry to have interrupted your flirting back there, but we needed to keep moving…you know that, Tom. I can’t have a scene in the Seattle airport when there are people flying in from all over the United States and even the rest of the world for this convention…not with how the fanatics are, and especially not with how easy it is for somebody to take a picture and sell it to the paparazzi these days…I thought we decided **THAT** kind of attention wasn’t what you wanted after…”

“No… _you’re right_ , Luke.” Tom interjected, rubbing his free right hand over his mouth, brushing down the bristles and putting them back into order with a resigned sigh. “No more spectacles…no more media circuses…keep it under the radar, live ‘low key…’-” he added, unable to stop himself from laughing softly at his unintentional pun, “- _sorry…_ ”

“Be **serious** , Tom.” Luke reprimanded, ushering them to join the flow onto the escalator, “ _Keep your voice down…_ ”

“Yes, ** _Mother_** …” Tom muttered, trying to hide his sarcastic and sassy attitude as he ducked his face downwards and stepped onto the moving staircase heading down to the lower floors; adjusting his glasses once again, he couldn’t help but add softly, mostly for himself, “ _Such pretty eyes…_ ”

“Sorry? What was that?” Luke asked over his shoulder from the step behind him.

“Nothing…” Tom explained, “Just talking to myself.”

* * *

Feeling exponentially better after a trip to the bathroom, I made my way to collect my suitcase from the carousel, and followed the signs that directed the path towards the public transit station, figuring that would be the best way to see the sights of Seattle in the late afternoon overcast grey that was blanketing the sky while avoiding the homeward bound traffic as well as being easiest on my pocketbook; the sheer amount of green that I watched pass by as I traveled north to the downtown district was like a breath of fresh air after the endless red-brown of the desert where I lived. Open air light rail gave way to tunnels and underground stations the closer we got to the heart of the city, but the sight of the huge stadium and surrounding property gave a glimpse of what I had to look forward to after getting the few ‘business’ aspects of my trip out of the way…a weekend with a longtime friend at a comic convention…my first ever experience at such an event, before the train slipped into the darkness.

My stop was two up from the Stadium, in the heart of Downtown Seattle, and my hotel wasn’t far from the famous Pike Place Market, which I was looking forward to exploring, but my main focus was getting checked in, freshening up and heading out to meet up with contacts I had befriended online in conjunction with the convention-Kayla, I had met up with over Instagram, and in an amazing twist of fate, she had introduced me to a man that would be working as Staff at the Con, Emilio; he had been a huge comic nerd all his life, and at his mother’s insistence, opened his open store up and had risen in the local convention community…

Kayla and I had decided to meet up for dinner, and Emilio had promised to get in touch once he was done with work and his requirements for the convention; we found ourselves at a seafood restaurant near the water, enjoying fresh caught North Pacific fish over delightful conversation when Kayla got a text to meet Emilio at a local bar near the Stadium.

“This is _nice_!” I said in awe as we walked into the bar; it was dark, atmospheric and had good music playing with a few people dancing in the small area cleared for such activities.

“I’m digging it…” Kayla agreed with a nod, her face scanning the room for Emilio, but he spotted us first and came barreling towards us. Before we knew it, the man of the hour had us both in his arms to give us each a bear hug, accidentally sloshing his beer over the rim of his glass onto my jeans.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry, Katie!” He apologized, swaying slightly and just barely slurring. I stepped back out of the line of fire to avoid anymore splashes, telling him it was alright as he offered to buy my first couple of drinks and have my jeans cleaned for me.

“It’s okay, Emilio, I promise! You don’t have to have them cleaned, I’ll rinse them once I get back to my hotel and wash them once I get back home to Pahrump…-” I reassured him, patting his arm and smiling, “-as for drinks, I accept. Now which way to the bathroom, so I can clean up?”

My friend pointed to the hallway visible by the bar and pointed to a room raised off the main floor, telling me that was where the crew was hanging out, and if anybody gave me trouble, to get him.

Shaking my head, I turned on the spot and promptly walked into a wall…no, not a wall, a chest and chin…a slender but very solid chest, complete with defined muscles, and a chin covered in a sandy ginger bracken of bristles.

“ ** _Son of a…_** ” I yelped at the connection my forehead made with the chin, and felt liquid slosh down my right side yet again, the second time in less than two minutes as an arm surrounded my shoulders, holding me tight to that thin framed body as we fought to regain balance and prevent ourselves from falling over. The pain of such a sudden crack had me lifting my hand to my head to cradle it, more focused on it than the man I had just collided with.

“ _We should really stop meeting like this…_ ” A familiar deep voice purred, holding back a surprised laugh. That accent had both eyes snapping open, lifting my aching head to see it was in fact Tom Hiddleston not only standing in front of me, but holding me against his body, and alight with amusement. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t help but find the serendipity in this…Looks like the Fates want you to buy me a drink after all, darling.”

In the shock of literally running into this glorious man a second time in a manner of hours, along with the blunt force trauma his chin just inflicted on my cranium, I felt my face pinch into a concentrated frown, and my left hand lifted from his chest where it had landed in the tussle and tangle to poke him in the chest in confusion, which only got a chuckle from him in response.

“Yes, it’s me…your victim from the airport…” He grinned, loosening his arms enough to step back and give me a smidge of personal space; his hand removed itself from my waist to raise to his face, cradling his chin before giving it a rub and adding, “That was quite the knock…how’s your head? I apologize, I was watching the World Cup footage and wasn’t paying attention…”

“I guess we’re even now…” I admitted with a soft laugh, cringing at the pain radiating from my eyebrow. “But it’s not entirely your fault, I wasn’t paying attention either…”

His nod of agreement was concession we could both share the blame; his arm lifted and out of my peripheral vision, I saw the pint of amber liquid he had been carrying was half full, and we both realized what happened.

I sighed a heavy sigh, closing my eyes and admitting, “Tonight just _isn’t_ my night, is it?”

Tom’s brows pinched together in confusion, “Whatever do you mean?”

“I was headed to the restroom to clean up another spilled drink when we crashed into each other, again.” I explained, leaning to my right to wipe my hand down the length of my leg, feeling the denim soaked from my hip onwards and pulling my hand away with a hint of foam still clinging to my fingers. Looking back up into his piercing blue eyes behind those frames, I joked, “I swear I’m not drunk, I just smell like it…”

“Oh! Darling-” He started, not expecting my confession, and falling back onto those impeccable English manners of his, he began to apologize profusely, “-I’m _so terribly_ sorry! Had I known…well, I guess if I had known or had been paying attention, we wouldn’t have quite literally run into one another like this again…I feel _absolutely_ terrible, Katie! Please, is there anything I can do to assist you in this situation?”

“You didn’t know…it’s fine!” I couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction, how incredibly sweet and gentlemanly he was in this moment, confirming all the wonderful praise I had heard concerning him. Tom reached his free hand towards me, palm up, to take my hand in his to give a reassuring squeeze to cement his sincere apology as I went on to add, “Accidents happen, I just appreciate you being a gracious and understanding earlier at the airport…you don’t need to do anything, I promise!”

I could see the wheels turning in his brain in the low light of the bar as his eyes grazed over my face quickly. He still held my hand in his, giving it another squeeze before speaking up.

“Darling, I can’t…let me…how about this for a proposal-” I could feel the intensity of his watchful eyes on me, flicking from my eyes to watch my lips briefly before sweeping over my face and then connecting once more with my eyes; all of a sudden, my mouth felt drier than the desert I lived in, and I swallowed before taking a deep breath and licking my lips, which called his attention away from my eyes once again as he went on to add, “-why don’t you let me make it up to you with something a little stronger than coffee? After you clean up, of course! And you can buy coffee tomorrow…”

Raising a brow, I couldn’t help but bite my lip to try and hide the huge grin attempting to spread over my face.

His face watched mine for a second, and then the way his last sentenced sounded seemed to have dawned on him, and a faint shadow darkened the tops of his cheeks not covered by hair; ducking his face downward, that embarrassed smile of his made an appearance along with his nervous chuckle of ‘eheheheheh’.

[Originally posted by thewinterfrostgiant](https://tmblr.co/ZWI45uZRf8FO)

“I’m sorry, that sounded _so terribly forward_ of me. That wasn’t how I meant…I didn’t mean… ** _oh bloody hell_**.” He sputtered, apologizing left and right, and it made me fall down the rabbit hole further, as friends had tried to explain when I had asked what was so special about Tom Hiddleston. “I’m a _**right** bloody idiot_, I hope I haven’t scared you off.”

“It’s _okay_ …you make me laugh, I like a man that can make me laugh.” I told him with a hand going to rest on his bicep, giving it a squeeze as I went on to reassure him with, “Besides, you don’t give off an Hannibal Lector/crazy serial killer vibes…so I think I’ll stick around to see how _else_ you can stick your foot in your mouth.”

His mouth was pressed into an embarrassed line as his head bobbed up and down in agreement.

“I’ll attempt to give you a good show, but I can’t promise anything…” Tom teased, stepping back further, and moving to the side, telling me, “You should go use the facilities, clean up some…what would you like from the bar, it’s my treat, darling?”

Stepping around Tom, I felt a spark of mischief hit me; three steps towards the hallway, I called back over my shoulder, “Something _stronger_ than coffee, but not so _strong_ I miss our _date_ tomorrow.”

Tom stood rooted to the floor, blinking comically, his half empty pint dripping the last of the foam to have sloshed over the rim over his fingers as a grin spread over his face, so I added one last parting zinger to let him think over, “Surprise me… _I’m easy_.”

* * *

Groaning, Tom felt those last two words echo through his ears.

“Well…this shall be _very_ interesting _indeed_.”

He stood at the bar for another ten minutes, waiting for Katie to appear, catching up on what had happened during the days games at the World Cup, when he heard somebody talking about a women in the restroom standing around in her underwear drying her jeans under a hand dryer, and couldn’t contain his laughter; five minutes passed and he felt a presence at his side. Turning his head, Tom smiled at the now happy face of the young woman keeping him on his toes lately.

“Everything alright?” He asked, unable to keep himself from adding as he leaned to his left, closer to her, “You don’t _smell_ like a dunkard anymore-”, lifting his hand from the edge of the bar, he moved to drop it between their bodies, touching the backs of his fingers to the denim covering the side of her thigh where he knew his beer had spilled, “-and your jeans aren’t soaked through with beer…”

“They’re still a _little_ damp…” She admitted, and it was his turn to giggle at her unintended innuendo. She seemed to catch it just as the words left her lips, and let out a cry of embarrassment, covering her pretty face at the double meaning of her admission. 

[Originally posted by lawalli](https://tmblr.co/ZtAA4vyn0G1F)

It took a minute of quiet giggling on both their parts, but eventually Tom sat watching Katie, grinning widely at the similarities they seemed to share, including the nervousness the other caused in them respectively.

Katie rested her chin in her palm, fighting to get herself under control, explaining, “ _That wasn’t what I…I mean…my pants, the dryer didn’t get them 100% dry…_ ”

“It’s all _my_ fault, for making your pants _**wet**_ …” Tom teased, testing the waters even further by pushing the limits of his phrasing; he knew she was open to his flirting, had been returning each and every serve he lobbed to her side of the court since their initial ‘run-in’ earlier in the afternoon, but wanted to make sure completely before risking it. Her laugh was full on and hearty, her head tipping backwards; her body leaned into his, making contact with a playful nudge a second before her hand gripped the inside of his elbow. “I swear, I can hold my drink… _what happened_ …that almost _never_ happens! Only around _pretty girls_ or when I’m particularly _nervous_ …”

Her laugh rang out again, and Tom was strangely aware of the way it sounded, clear and musical, while her eyes sparkled and the corners creased while she smiled, and her hand moving in a light brush along his elbow to touch his bicep once more.

“Do I make you nervous?” She asked, an unbelieving grin on her face, lighting her from within.

Turning on the bar stool, Tom moved his foot from the rung it rested on to allow him to get his leg around Katie, who was standing next to him before resting once more on the bar and framing her between his legs; resting his weight on his right arm, planted on the bar top, he nodded.

“Just a _smidgen_ …” He admitted, closing the distance between them further and lifting his left hand to hold within what remaining space was left, his thumb and forefinger held centimeters apart to illustrate to her that he was serious.

“Why are you nervous?” She chuckled, taking a half step into the space left between their bodies, her right hand loosening its grip on his arm to graze down it’s length, only to come to rest on the top of his knee, next to her hip; she had the gaul to bite her lip, slowly pulling the skin from between her teeth as she batted long lashes at him before leaning in the rest of the way into him and whispering, “I promise I _won’t_ bite… _hard_ , at least, not unless you **_want_** me to.”

He couldn’t contain the groan that slipped from deep in his throat. 

A soft chuckle sounded in his ear and then he felt her hand touch the juncture of his jaw and neck on his right side and soft lips pressed to his cheek, half on his beard and he cursed the damned facial hair for obscuring the feeling of her lips against his skin in that moment.

Tom swallowed hard, willing himself to get the riotous urges under control; opening his eyes, he saw Katie leaning back from her surprise counter attack, at a brief loss for a response to her declaration of ‘checkmate’ as she smiled playfully.

Turning from his face, she looked at the two glasses in front of him, pointing with the hand she took from his knee, asking, “What’d you order?”

It took a couple of seconds for her words to register over the echo of her sexually charged quip, but he finally shook himself clear enough to answer.

“The bar tender’s recommendation, something called ‘ _Space Dust_ ’…”

“Oh, I ** _LOVE_** Elysian!” Katie proclaimed, reaching between their bodies to snag the untouched pint next to his. She brought the glass to her face, taking a deep whiff of the aroma through the goodly amount of head on the beer.

“I guess they’re a local brewery…it’s a little strong on the hops for my taste…” Tom started to say as she took her first sip, but stopped to laugh quietly to himself when she pulled back out of her glass with a tiny foam mustache; before he knew it, he was reaching to wipe the foam from her upper lip with the pad of his thumb, bringing it back to his mouth to clean the residue from his finger, unaware of his action and the familiarity that went with it.

Katie stood still, watching him for a few quick beats, her body still planted between his knees with no sign of moving of her own volition anytime soon.

“They are…” She confirmed, speaking slowly, moving her glass from her right hand to her left, “I want to hit up one of their places here in town this weekend…”

The tension was palpable, growing thicker by the minute and Tom knew he’d have to make a decision soon…the moment of truth was rapidly approaching.

Lifting his hand from where it rested on his leg once Katie reached for her drink, he touched her arm, touching his fingers in light strokes over the fabric of her zip-up jacket, he took a fortifying breath, working up his nerve to address the elephant in the room, for him at least.

“Darling, _I_ -” He started, but the music playing in the bar had changed from something uptempo and rock-ish, to a slow, jazzy song that Tom recognized instantly, and he faltered, losing his nerve to the desire to have a moment with this amazing creature in his grasp before having to put his truth out there, on the line. “- _Will you dance with me_?”

Her face pinched in confusion, but it was more to do with his abrupt left turn in the direction of conversation, but she nodded, setting her glass on the counter, mostly empty.

‘ _When your legs don’t work like they used to before…_ ’

Tom let her back out from between his legs, holding his hand out for Katie to take once he stood; she accepted his offer, walking out onto the floor peppered with the few other pairs taking advantage of the slow song. Deciding on a spot, he planted himself, lifting his arm to twirl Katie in a gentle swirl before pulling her into his hold as the first chorus finished up.

Her hand rested in his while her left arm snaked around his waist as his hand found the small of her back, holding Katie close; Tom could feel her hand move in slow swipes along his back, before it came to rest against the back of his shoulder, her fingers anchored over the curve of the top as she sighed, resting her head in the crook of neck and shoulder. Tom gave in, giving himself the moment of slow dancing with her, just the two of them and the music, resting his head on the top of hers until Ed Sheeran finished up and another slow song started up…and neither made a move to separate, but kept on moving in slow circles as the Righteous Brothers sang ‘Unchained Melody’

Tom had his eyes closed, humming along with the song when a softly muttered, “ _Mmmm, you smell good_ ” reached his ears, making his face tilt into a lopsided grin.

Rubbing his face against the top of Katie’s head, he could feel her hair catching the bristles of his beard, and responded with his own quiet, “So do you, darling…-” as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, teasing with, “-once you get past the smell of beer.” 

Her answer was a small pinch to shoulder which made him smile and chuckle softly.

As the third slow song finished and another well known rock anthem came blaring out of the speakers, Tom broke away, leading Katie back towards the bar, still holding her hand. He caught the eye of the man behind the bar, signalling for another round for the two of them.

“I, _uh_ , I need to tell you something…” Tom started up once more, nerves coming back in full force at having to make his revelation. Katie turned to face him, leaning on the bar as she waited for him to go on. Suddenly Tom didn’t know what to do with his hands, so his left went to her waist, playing with the bottom hem of her light jacket while his right pushed into his hair, mussing his long curls. “ _Umm_ …well, I feel that before anything else transpires between us… _um_ , I feel that I have to tell you…-” he sputtered, trying to find the right words that wouldn’t make him sound like some egomaniac, and suddenly remembered he hadn’t introduced himself at the airport, and she hadn’t let on that she knew who he was, so he went that route, “- _um_ …I never _properly_ introduced myself, I’m Tom Hid…”

Katie’s face broke into smile, her body seeming to bow in upon itself in a chuckle for a brief second before she looked him square in the eye and raised her hand to push her pointer finger to his lips, effectively shutting him up as the bar keep approached and plunked two new glasses of fresh draft beer in front of them; her quiet giggles told him everything he needed to know…she was a sly and clever girl, and a great actress in her own right as she told him in a hushed tone, “I know.”

“Then… _how come_ … _why didn’t_ …?” He asked in surprise and pleasant shock.

“I figured you’d want to be treated like a ‘normal’ human being, not have to worry about ‘being on’…” Katie admitted sheepishly, adding softly, “And you’re pretty handsome, so I guess I kind of got lost in that…and you were flirting, so I ran with it.”

“Did you know it was me when you ran into me at the airport?” Tom asked cautiously, feeling his guard walls raising at her confession, but deep down inside, his gut instinct was telling him he was being foolish to question her.

“ **No**.” She admitted adamantly, shaking her head in wide swaths. “Honestly…I was just trying to get to the bathroom as quickly as I could, because I had to pee so _badly_! And it was so crowded on the concourse that I was weaving through **ANY** open space and ran into you trying to avoid the little old man and woman that kept stopping in front of me…I _swear_ , on my father’s remains!”

He watched her eyes through that admission and he couldn’t detect a shred of dishonesty in her face or body language, so he let the breath he had unknowingly been holding out and relaxed before another question popped into his head.

“What brings you _here_ , to the same pub as me then…”

“My friend Emilio. He’s working at the convention this weekend…”

“You know Emilio?” Tom asked, astonished; he had met the stocky fellow earlier when he, Luke and Tom Holland had gone to the Convention Center to get the lay of the land, their credentials and speak to the people in charge…Emilio being near the top of the hierarchy of this particular convention.

“He’s a friend of a friend, we had been planning to meet up after he was finished with everything he had to do today, and he told us to come here…” Katie explained, “He **_never_** mentioned you would be here, Tom. It was just happy chance, because I wasn’t planning on seeing you again until Saturday, at the Convention.”

Leaning backwards slightly, he gave her another good look over.

“So…you **_ARE_** one of the fan girls?” He asked with a brow raised, confusion apparent all over his face and body.

“No.” She told him quickly, stopping to find the right words, “I mean, I’m a ‘ _fan_ ’ but not one of ‘ _THOSE_ ’ fans. I enjoy watching your projects, and I think you’re handsome…even more so in person, but I was only a casual fan that when I would come across something you were in would basically point at the screen and say, ‘ _Hey! That’s that’s the guy that plays Loki!_ ”

Tom sat perfectly still, watching her closely, gauging and weighing her latest confession. Katie watched him, forehead raised slightly in expectation, but soon Tom saw it fall as her realization of his Sphynx like expression not giving away his take on this new development was like watching a blossom as it closes in upon itself before the last of its life slipped from the stem and the dead petals fell to the ground as she retracted, moving to step out of his hold; that sudden disappointment and hurt was crystal clear, and he felt instant guilt and knew she had been telling the truth.

“Where are you going, Katie?” Tom asked softly, his arm following hers as she went to turn and leave, but his hand caught her wrist, closing gently around it to anchor her there.

“I’ll just leave you, you don’t want to listen to me rattle on…I can see it on your face. You don’t believe me, that it wasn’t premeditated…” She offered, head bowed to the floor, “Thank you for the drink, and the dances…they were lovely…”

“Please, _don’t go_. I **_don’t_** want you to go, Katie…” Tom confessed, pulling gently on her arm to bring her back to him. “I just, I have to be cautious…the little voice inside my head as well as my gut instinct are telling me that you’re being truthful with me, but in my line of work, with the double edged sword that is fame, I have to second guess _every_ person that crosses my path and what their motives are, especially after Tay…” He explained, but paused, stopping himself before he uttered her name; the fact that he was even comfortable enough to subconsciously let his guard down about that particular chapter after such a short amount of time with this woman was startling, going on to tell Katie, “ **Especially** after my last relationship. I learned a very _hard_ , and extremely _painful_ lesson with that…it’s just that, _now,_ I try to keep a low profile and keep to myself, to stay out of the spotlight unless it’s for my work.”

Katie tentatively stepped closer, listening intently; Tom let his fingers loosen from her wrist, only to take her hand, pulling her closer still until she could hear him without having to shout over the music and moved his hand to hold hers firmly.

“I **don’t** want you to _leave_ , _please believe me_ , darling…I _like_ talking with you, it’s **_easy_**. It’s **_fun_**.” He admitted sheepishly, giving her fingers a squeeze before going on to add, “And what I said earlier…about you making me _nervous_? It’s _true_ , but in the _**best**_ way possible.”

“I guess that makes _two_ of us, then, Hiddleston.”


End file.
